Amateur Football Combination Premier Division

Result- Old Meadonians 2 Old Hamptonians 1

This game at Riverside Lands was a dour slog for two teams who appeared to have lost a bit of their cutting edge. This was more understandable for Old Meadonians as they were temporarily missing six of their regular squad, five with niggling injuries and one talented, blossoming but tempestuous youngster sitting it out sheepishly becalmed on the naughty step with a club ban.

However, while Meads certainly missed the determined and indomitable thrust of one of the walking wounded, leading scorer Nick Wilson, the more ominous signs of lethargy were displayed by visitors to Riverside Lands, last season’s champions, Old Hamptonians who struggled to break free of the mid-field strangle hold their hosts maintained from the kick off. There was a cost consequent to Meads’ strategy of defending where the ball is. This calls for front runners to tackle back and join mid-fielders in depriving opponents of space and comfortable possession in which to build up attacks from deep.

Thus, apart from being energy based, it meant that the hosts’ ability to scare Hamptonians’ defence away from maintaining a high line by speed from deep was limited by the absence of the pace of both Wilson and their other flyer, Ed Glover. Meads first was made to look routine by the calm methodical application of basic skills.

On twenty minutes Craig Jones came back off his marker to the halfway line thence pulling space for him to reverse the ball through to Mike Richards whose economic approach and dummy took him past the last defender to the edge of the area. He then gathered himself to out think the charging keeper by tucking the ball into the near bottom corner from fifteen yards. Meads’ second ten minutes later had an element of luck to it while coming from sustained pressure which introduced a welcome degree of panic in the visitors’ rearguard. They failed to clear one of a number of corners which a more mobile keeper would have lapped up and in the mayhem which ensued the ball was belted into their central defender’s back-side to rebound into the corner of the net.

Hamptonians’ consolation came with half an hour to go from a speculative cross shot which crept over the line off the inside of the post. The game might have been made safe if the hosts had been more clinical near goal but they were never in danger from flagging foes and reaped a deserved early league double as a result.

Squad: Robinson, Campbell, Donovan, Chapman, Britner, N. Jones, Gowers, Shea, Bright, McKenna, Richards, Richardson, A. Glover.

December 22, 2016